Frustrated fire crews required to ‘babysit’ impaired drivers for police ‘We can’t respond to other calls’: first-on-scene responders sometimes wait hours until officers freed up for lower-priority matters By: Chris Kitching Posted: 4:35 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 Last Modified: 10:35 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 Updates

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A Winnipeg firefighter says crews are being forced to “babysit” some suspected impaired drivers — sometimes for hours — until police arrive, preventing them from responding to other calls.

The firefighter said the lengthy waits are wasting taxpayer-funded fire resources at a time when the city’s limited emergency services personnel are already stretched.

“When we sit and wait, we can’t respond to other calls,” said the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service member, who spoke to the Free Press on condition of anonymity. “It’s frustrating, just knowing our services are needed elsewhere. There are other calls we could be going to.”

“When we sit and wait, we can’t respond to other calls. It’s frustrating, just knowing our services are needed elsewhere.”– the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service member, speaking to the Free Press on condition of anonymity

They said the situations also present safety concerns, because some suspected impaired drivers become combative or flee before officers arrive.

“They walk away. We can’t hold them,” the firefighter said.

They said it’s not uncommon for WFPS members to arrive first and wait an hour or longer for officers to respond to a suspected impaired driver call that is assigned a lower priority.

If impaired driving is suspected when fire crews respond to an incident, they are required to request the Winnipeg Police Service.

In cases where the wait becomes lengthy, firefighters make repeated requests, the source said.

When possible, firefighters take the keys away from drivers. However, some drivers are violent or verbally abusive, or do not want to stick around for police, the firefighter said.

The Free Press was told of two recent incidents where fire crews waited more than an hour while keeping watch over drivers who appeared to be severely drunk.

One of the suspects was found passed out behind the wheel and tried to drive off.

The firefighter said calls are given a higher priority in a queue — resulting in a swifter police response — if an assault occurs or if there is a danger, such as the driver being in possession of a weapon.

But if there is no imminent risk to safety, fire crews sit and wait, the source said.

They said fire crews do not “self-dispatch,” or pick and choose the calls they respond to, and they have no choice but to keep watch until police arrive or they are told otherwise.

“I don’t have the answers as to what can fix it. I just know the resources are poorly used,” the firefighter said.

The firefighter and a second WFPS source said unnecessary waits are not limited to calls involving suspected drunk or drug-impaired drivers.

“Police are busy. We need more police, more paramedics and more firefighters,” the second source said.

Police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said the WPS and WFPS share information during emergency calls.

“The information is shared to provide appropriate response to calls for service and are attended based on priority and availability of personnel,” he wrote in an email.

“If WFPS crews have concerns about criminal activity at any scene, they work collaboratively with WPS,” fire paramedic spokeswoman Erin Madden wrote in an email. “WFPS dispatchers are in constant contact with WPS dispatchers and can relay information as required.”

Coun. Evan Duncan, chair of city hall’s community services committee, said the scenario involving suspected impaired drivers is the type of problem the city runs into when there is high demand and emergency services become stretched.

“If WFPS crews have concerns about criminal activity at any scene, they work collaboratively with WPS. WFPS dispatchers are in constant contact with WPS dispatchers and can relay information as required.”– email response from fire paramedic spokeswoman Erin Madden

It may suggest a need to look at how resources are allocated, said Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

WPS and WFPS members are doing the best they can to respond to calls while working tough jobs, he added.

Winnipeg Police Board chair Coun. Markus Chambers said high-priority calls are frequent.

Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) indicated he would ask the WPS for more information on response times to suspected impaired driving incidents.

Tom Bilous, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said the union regularly raises the topic of fire resources with WFPS management.

“The UFFW has long identified the need for more resources to allow us to be more readily available for higher-acuity or fire emergencies,” said Bilous.

In the last year, Chief Danny Smyth and other senior police figures have raised concerns about a spike in calls for help and rising pressure on 911 staff.

In 2022, calls to the WPS’ communications centre were 14 per cent higher than the five-year average, with about 2,000 per day, according to an annual report.

Total reports of crime were 17 per cent higher than average.

Of those, the WPS recorded 336 impaired-driving offences. The total was eight per cent higher than 2021 and about 10 per cent less than the five-year average.

On Jan. 16, city police and Manitoba Public Insurance launched a new enforcement project targeting drug-impaired driving.

Out of 35 traffic stops that day, four drivers tested positive for cannabis, while five people were ticketed for unlawful storage of cannabis, said police.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca